**New Mission in Colorado** (News Article from Diocese of the West, dowoca.org)

The cold and the snow did not deter the faithful from celebrating the first Divine Liturgy of the newly established Orthodox Mission in Parker, Colorado on Sunday, December 09, 2012. Inspired and led by Father Anthony Karbo, this group of 41 missionaries planted the seeds of Orthodoxy on fertile ground in an area of the Southeastern Denver Metro area containing 60,000 people but not one Orthodox Church of any jurisdiction. Faithful from Elizabeth, Parker, Aurora, Centennial, Colorado Springs and Littleton converged on this neighborhood community center to establish this foothold of Orthodoxy.

From the portable iconostasis to the angelic voices of the choir, this first service exceeded everyone’s expectations. This mission is a collaborative effort of three OCA parishes in the Rocky Mountain Deanery; Holy Theophany in Colorado Springs, St Herman’s in Littleton and Holy Transfiguration in Denver. Although this mission church is sponsored by the Orthodox Church in America, its goal is to become a pan Orthodox oasis for anyone to have a place to worship should they not be able to travel to other churches in the area. Attendees of today’s services acknowledged they travel anywhere from 25 minutes to over an hour to get to the nearest Orthodox church from their homes.

After the service, everyone shared in fellowship over a pot luck luncheon. For now, the mission will celebrate Diving Liturgy on the second Sunday of each month, starting at 9:30 am. Through God’s grace they hope to expand beyond the 41 people who attended this first service and reach out to others; providing the opportunity for many to worship our Lord and Savior who live in the Southeast Denver Metro area.

The Holy Spirit is indeed inspiring this group of missionaries as they spread the work of our Lord to a section of this Denver Metro area. All of the people involved in cultivating this vineyard of our Lord ask that you keep them in your prayers as they continue to spread his word.